Brandi Hephner LaBanc (left) and Donald Cole during commencement at the University of Mississippi in May. The two have spearheaded the new seminar discussing last year's election night rally.

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Originally published on July 2, 2013 6:12 pm

At new-student orientation this summer, University of Mississippi students are learning about the usual: meal plans and financial aid. But they're also hearing something else: a seminar born out of an incident on election night last November.

On Nov. 6, right after President Obama won the election, a small group of students staged a Mitt Romney rally. But it soon turned racial. White students played "Dixie" on car stereos, chanted "the South will rise again" and burned Obama campaign signs. Black students felt threatened. And the crowd grew from 40 students to 400 curious onlookers.

"And that's when the tweets just started flying," says Adam Ganucheau, a senior and editor-in-chief of TheDaily Mississippian, the university's student newspaper. "If you just refreshed your Twitter feed that night, you saw some of the craziest things, like cars being set on fire. Gunshots fired. People wounded."

But the social media reports were not true. There was no riot. And the headlines — nationally, anyway — disappeared in a day. But given the university's history of racial problems, administrators couldn't ignore what had happened. And Donald Cole took it personally.

"It was work that I had done over the years torn down in seconds," he said, "because someone didn't think properly at the time."

Donald Cole is a math professor at the University of Mississippi and the assistant to the chancellor for multicultural affairs.

But he's best-known for his personal Ole Miss story: how he enrolled in 1968, just six years after James Meredith's bloody integration battle, and how he faced down his bigoted classmates. The son of a factory worker and housekeeper, Cole was pelted with garbage at football games, pushed off sidewalks and taunted by girls waving Confederate flags.

"But maybe a little bit more disturbingly," he says, recounting these moments, "was the lack of response from anyone around except but to — quote — cheer them on."

So in 1970, as a sophomore, Cole and others protested. Cole was arrested and then expelled — a low point for him. But in 1977, Ole Miss reaccepted Cole as a doctoral student. He finally got his Ole Miss degree — a Ph.D. — and then was hired as faculty, happy to be back.

"Because we're not the university we once were," Cole says. "And I know that. And I want everybody else to know that."

With another school year looming, 3,700 new students are visiting campus this summer. They're getting tours and, at times, an earful from Cole.

On a recent afternoon, Cole addressed 120 incoming freshmen and their parents inside the same auditorium where police once arrested him at gunpoint. The talk is part of a new effort to turn last November's incident into a teaching moment: how to use social media and how to just get along with others.

"The idea again is that learned men show their differences by rhetoric, show their differences by persuasive arguments," Cole says during his speech. "Learned men don't fight."

Later, another speaker showed a photo of a white student burning that Obama campaign sign last fall. It's important to confront what happened as directly as possible, says Brandi Hephner LaBanc, the university's vice chancellor for student affairs.

"There was discussion about how direct," she says. "And there were some folks who were a big fan of direct. And there were some folks that were probably a little more like ... do we need to rehash it, type of thing. But in the end, we decided direct is the route to go and let's have the conversation."

Black students say there's still work to do. Some students were afraid last November, says rising senior Hope Owens-Wilson, and still feel prejudice today.

"It's very interesting kind of experiencing racism in the 21st century," she says. "Nobody's going to openly, you know, ostracize you. But there are whispers and there are looks."

At Ole Miss, though, they're talking about it. And for Owens-Wilson, there's hope in knowing that Donald Cole, a man once marginalized, is helping to lead that discussion.

Copyright 2013 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.

Transcript

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Audie Cornish.

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

And I'm Robert Siegel. The University of Mississippi is trying to turn an ugly incident from last fall into a teachable moment for new students. On election night last November, a small group of students staged a Mitt Romney rally on campus. A confrontation ensued and white students shouted racial slurs. Now, as the university prepares for a new school year, administrators are turning to a man who made his mark at Ole Miss four decades ago at the height of the Civil Rights movement.

From Oxford, Mississippi, Keith O'Brien has the story.

KEITH O'BRIEN, BYLINE: The problems last November began after midnight in the dark. A political gathering turned racial. White students played Dixie on car stereos, chanted the South will rise again, and burned Obama campaign signs. Black students felt threatened and the crowd grew from 40 students to 400 curious onlookers.

ADAM GANUCHEAU: And that's when the tweets just started flying.

O'BRIEN: Adam Ganucheau is a senior and the editor-in-chief of The Daily Mississippian, the university's student newspaper.

GANUCHEAU: If you just refreshed your Twitter feed that night, you saw some of the craziest things, like cars being set on fire, gunshots fired, people wounded.

O'BRIEN: The social media reports were not true. There was no riot. And the headlines, nationally, anyway, disappeared in a day. But given the university's history of racial problems, administrators couldn't ignore what had happened. One man took it personally.

DONALD COLE: It was work that I had done over the years, torn down in seconds because someone didn't think properly at the time.

O'BRIEN: Donald Cole is a math professor at the University of Mississippi and the assistant to the chancellor for multicultural affairs. But he's best-known for his personal Ole Miss story: how he enrolled in 1968, just six years after James Meredith's bloody integration battle and how he faced down his bigoted classmates. Cole, the son of a factory worker and housekeeper, was pelted with garbage at football games, pushed off sidewalks and taunted by girls waving Confederate flags.

COLE: But maybe a little bit more disturbingly was the lack of response from anyone around except but to, quote, "cheer them on."

O'BRIEN: So in 1970, as a sophomore, he and others protested. Cole got arrested and expelled, a low point for him. But in 1977, Ole Miss reaccepted Cole as a doctoral student. He finally got his Ole Miss degree, a Ph.D., and then was hired as faculty, happy to be back.

COLE: Because we're not the university that we once were. And I know that. And I want everybody else to know that.

O'BRIEN: 3,700 new students are visiting campus this summer, getting tours and, at times, an earful from the man they'll know as Dr. Cole.

COLE: Almost finished. You're on the way. I know you're tired. I don't care. I'm going to talk anyway.

O'BRIEN: On a recent afternoon, Cole addressed 120 incoming freshmen and their parents inside the same auditorium where police once arrested him at gunpoint. The talk is part of a new effort to turn last November's incident into a teaching moment for how to use social media and how to just get along with others.

COLE: The idea, again, is that learned men show their differences by rhetoric, show their differences by persuasive arguments. Learned men don't fight.

O'BRIEN: Later, another speaker shows a photo of a white student burning that Obama campaign sign last fall. Brandi Hephner LaBanc is the university's vice chancellor for student affairs. She says it's important to confront what happened as directly as possible.

BRANDI HEPHNER LABANC: There was discussion about how direct, you know, and there were some folks who were a big fan of direct. And there were some folks that were probably a little more like, do we need to rehash it, type of thing. But in the end, we just decided direct is the route to go and let's have the conversation.

O'BRIEN: Black students say there's still work to do. Hope Owens-Wilson will be a senior in the fall. She says some were afraid last November and still feel prejudiced today.

HOPE OWENS-WILSON: It's very interesting kind of experiencing racism in the 21st century. Nobody's going to openly, you know, ostracize you but there are whispers and there are looks.

O'BRIEN: At Ole Miss, though, they're talking about it. And for Owens-Wilson, there's hope in knowing that Donald Cole, a man once marginalized, is helping to lead that discussion. For NPR News, I'm Keith O'Brien. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.